Middlesbrough look to extend remarkable Friday-night record and take a giant step towards promotion

Boro travel to St Andrew’s this evening looking to open up a three-point gap to promotion rivals Burnley and Brighton, who are not in action until Bank Holiday Monday.

Provided Boro claim at least a point tonight, they will head into their final game knowing any victory over Brighton would guarantee promotion, and while Sky’s decision to switch the Birmingham trip to a Friday might have disrupted supporters’ travel plans, Karanka was delighted to see the game brought forward.

Since taking over at the Riverside two-and-a-half years ago, Karanka has presided over ten Friday-night matches – with his side having claimed ten successive victories. The most recent saw Boro claim a 3-2 win at QPR at the start of the month, and Karanka claims his players are more comfortable playing on a Friday evening than on a more traditional Saturday afternoon.

“I have always said that, for me, it is better to play on a night like this than on a Saturday afternoon,” said the Boro head coach, who will once again be without injured full-back George Friend. “In Spain, we are used to playing at that time.

“I think the players like it too, and the atmosphere is better. Playing on a night, and especially on a Friday, has been amazing for us. Hopefully, we will add another one to the list of our wins.

“I was pleased when the game was changed because I like it when we play at that time. Whether it is a Monday or a Friday doesn’t really matter, I just prefer to play on a night. I think we play better at that time than at three o’clock.”

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Middlesbrough’s perfect Friday record under Aitor Karanka

2014

Dec 26 Nottm Forest (h) 3-0

2015

Apr 3 Wigan (h) 1-0

Apr 17 Norwich (a) 1-0

May 8 Brentford (a) 2-1

May 15 Brentford (h) 3-0

Nov 20 QPR (h) 1-0

Dec 4 Ipswich (a) 2-0

2016

Mar 4 Wolves (h) 2-1

Mar 18 Hull (h) 1-0

Apr 1 QPR (a) 3-2

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While next weekend’s game with Brighton has long been ear-marked as a potential promotion decider, the outcome of tonight’s match will dictate what Boro have to do when they entertain the side currently one place below them in the table.

A win will almost certainly mean Boro can claim a draw on the final day of the season and still be promoted, but if the Teessiders were to lose tonight and Brighton were to beat Derby by two or more goals, there is a scenario whereby Karanka’s side could win on the final day and still find themselves in the play-offs.

The permutations are plentiful, although things will look an awful lot clearer if Boro extend their Friday-night record to 11 wins out of 11.

“There has been a lot of talk about the Brighton game, but it has come from elsewhere,” said Karanka. “For me, the special game and the most important game is the one at Birmingham. It is a massive three points because we can reach 90 points if we win, and that would be a good amount of points to have going into the last game.

“We can’t think about what is going to happen against Brighton until we know what is going to happen against Birmingham. That is what is in my head.”

And if Boro were to claim their 11th away win of the season tonight, Burnley and Brighton would have the whole of the weekend to stew on the three-point deficit that would separate them from the Teessiders.

“It is a chance to put some pressure on – but only if we win,” said Karanka. “If we can win against Birmingham, I will be happy because we have put more pressure on Brighton and Burnley.

“If we win this game, we will be in an amazing position, and a draw would probably be good enough in the last game in a normal situation. It is about this game and this game only at the moment though – after that, we can speak about Brighton all week.”

Birmingham cannot make the play-offs no matter what they do in their final two matches, with their promotion hopes having disappeared during a disappointing run that has seen them win just one of their last ten games.

There will be two familiar faces in the home ranks, with former Boro defender Jonathan Grounds set to line up in the back four and Diego Fabbrini, who started the season in the Middlesbrough squad, expected to start in midfield.

Fabbrini made 22 Championship appearances for Boro prior to the turn of the year, but his loan from Watford was cut short to enable him to make a £1.5m move to Birmingham in January.

He produced some impressive displays in the early stages of the campaign, most notably in the 3-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday that saw him score his second goal in a Boro shirt and the comprehensive 3-1 home win over Wolves, but had fallen out of favour by the time he was moved on to accommodate the arrival of Gaston Ramirez.

“I liked him, and that’s why I brought him here,” said Karanka. “It was a surprise for me when he was a little bit disappointed that he didn’t play more games. I can understand that because, as a player, you always want to play.

“Now, I think he has been unlucky because he is not playing the games he was expecting to play, but he is a real threat. He is a really good player, he can make the difference and for that reason we have to be careful with him. But we are at an advantage because we know about him.”

Middlesbrough (4-2-3-1): Konstantopoulos; Nsue, Gibson, Ayala, de Laet; Leadbitter, Clayton; Adomah, Ramirez, Downing; Rhodes.